Week 1: Sit Spot

March 08, 2021

Week 1: Sit Spot

This is the first photo taken from the first day of my sit spot practice.

Photo: left porch view from my sit spot. (3 February 2021)

I actually already had a place set up that I used to enjoy much more frequently pre-motherhood...a little outdoor sitting area with a cushiony swing nestled into a corner of my back porch facing out into our forested backyard... but it has been quite some time since I utilized it for private enjoyment.

Photo: overview of my sit spot overlooking my parent's home on our shared property. (7 February 2021)

This is the easiest outdoor space for me to access while also being close enough to the house to respond to any urgent needs in my family or organization. I have spent many hours on the porch swing reading books, writing grants, enjoying the weather, and observing nature. I've also spent many hours laughing and socializing in this same space, enjoying good parties, great food, lovely conversations, and incredible friends and family. Most recently space has been made in an adjacent area to host my toddler's weekly Tinkergarten experiments and her outdoor art + activity station. (We have a water table and a "playground" area set up elsewhere in the yard for our little one, in addition to our gardens, forests, Grandmother's outdoor kitchen, and other such exploratory spaces in various states of cultivation and wildness.)

Photo: a December 2020 Tinkergarten Zoom Circle Time session involving buckets of water, ice, snow, homemade boats, nature treasures, and the like to the right of my sit spot that explore properties of liquids and flotation. (19 December 2020)

I usually spend about 10-15 minutes observing from my sit spot and then take an exploratory walk around the yard, often ending up at one of my other two sit spots: one at the end of the forest near a red pine tree, and the other at the fire pit of the outdoor kitchen in a hammock. I usually don't spend a lot of time near the outdoor kitchen during the winter, and often find myself weaving slowly towards the edge of the forest. I find that movement helps in my meditative observance of nature, so I usually like to incorporate these observation walks as endings to my sit spot routine.

Photo: animal tracks in the snow near my secondary sit spot. (13 February 2021)

However, when I'm with my little one she tends to set the pace. We usually tend to start out at our sit spot with her enjoying either a planned provocation / invitation to play or a self-directed STEAM experience with her art and science station for a little bit, then we usually take off into the yard and the forest.

The following are some images and experiences captured during my sit spot routine.

Photo: our decorated red pine, home to my second set spot and my little one's water table + playground setups against the edge of our woods. My sit spot is against the trunk of this tree, and sometimes leaning over that branch. (13 February 2021)